DONBASS INTERNATIONAL NEWS AGENCY
DATELINE: Sunday, November 20, 2016
British Jake Hanrahan contacted DPR officials in the beginning of September, with the wish to make a visit to the Donetsk People’s Republic, and finally show the factual situation on the frontlines, presenting the events and views from both sides of the conflict on VICE News. Hanrahan promised to produce something [impartial and honest] which has never happened before on that channel.
THE VICE NEWS LIES
“Yes, I’m aware that Vice News has, in the past, made reports in the Donbass that the separatists have not seen as favourable. As I mentioned in my previous email though, I have never been to Ukraine and have never never reported from there before. I am only interested in reporting the truth”, wrote journalist Jake Hanrahan in his email to the DPR information ministry officials on 9 September 2016.
A detailed working plan was negotiated, and approved by the DPR officials. VICE News was assisted in collecting strong and truthful material from the Donetsk People’s Republic. On 26 September the VICE News team was inside the territory of the DPR, and journalist Jake Hanrahan was personally there with a cameraman directly under Ukrainian fire. In the DPR army positions they were assisted by the DONi Press journalist, Vittorio Rangeloni, in the Zaitsevo village, Gorlovka.
“On Saturday American-British journalist from HBO news media corporation, Vice News, was making a documentary report from frontline situation in Donbass, Donetsk People’s Republic. While visiting the frontline village Zaitsevo in the outskirts of Gorlovka, British journalists (Jake Hanrahan) came under Ukrainian shelling and harsh provocation, executed with multiple weapon systems” (DONi News, Monday, September 26, 2016)
DONi Press Italian correspondent Vittorio Rangeloni, described the situation in the frontline visit in his report:
“I was with the news group in Zaitsevo. At 17:30 we visited the trenches and after 15-20 minutes of interviews with the soldiers and the commander, Zhelezny, the Ukrainian army started to open fire in our direction with no provocation, by grenade launchers, automatic weapons, utyos (12.7 caliber machine gun) and BMP automatic cannon”, said Rangeloni.
British journalists recorded the provocation and asked from the commander, “why the DPR army had not responded to the fire?” They were really surprised by the one-sided military actions coming from the Ukrainian side. After 30 minutes of harassment bombardment, we used the first moment of silence to leave the village, and retreat to a safer place,” Rangeloni reported about the events in Zaitsevo with VICE News journalists.
It was also mentioned, that “HBO (VICE News) has promised to produce balanced reporting from the situation in the Donbass conflict. Over the weekend Vice News had a possibility to observe the situation in several frontline villages and the Donetsk airport, doing many interviews with DPR civilians and soldiers.”
EXAMPLES OF VICE NEWS REPORTING
VICE News Tonight: The Ukrainian Ceasefire That Wasn't
VICE News } Published on Oct 21, 2016
Despite two official ceasefires, the conflict between Russia-backed separatists and the Ukrainian Army in eastern Ukraine continues to drag on toward its third year.
Heavy fighting recently broke out in the separatist-controlled territory known as the Promzone. Steady shelling and gunfire has become a daily occurrence there, despite orders for both sides to respect truce agreements. VICE News went to the front lines with the Ukrainian Army to see what the war looks like firsthand and witness the cease-fire that wasn’t.
Also, examine this report.
VICE NEWS DISTORTS REALITY
[dropcap]O[/dropcap]n 21 October VICE News broadcasted its material about the September visit in Donbass: “The Ukrainian Ceasefire That Wasn’t”. What you can see in this VICE News report is a purely one-sided story, favoring the Ukrainian troops, with a strong Western mainstream propaganda narrative, and without any traces of the promised “balanced journalism”. Documented reality from the side of the DPR army was clearly censored. 
Censored material, recorded also by the DONi News’ camera equipment, and witnessed by our own international correspondents, includes VICE News frontline reports and several interviews in the DPR army positions, frontline villages and in the Donetsk airport. All of this material would clearly show the one-sided Ukrainian fire, footage that would show HBO’s Western audiences the real situation in the Donbass frontline.
I need to add that I was also personally with VICE News correspondent, Jake Hanrahan, on 24 September on several locations in the outskirts of Donetsk City. In my presence, they interviewed many soldiers and civilians, yet absolutely nothing of these important materials has been published to this day”, says Janus Putkonen, Finnish DONi News Agency director.
To date we have waited for one more month, but still none of the balancing materials from the side of Donetsk People’s Republic has been published on the HBO channel. So, what is the documented fact here? Simply this: VICE News keeps lying, and distorting the truth about the war in Donbass.
Editorial article, DONi Donbass News Agency
Pics: Vittorio Rangeloni, Donetsk airport and Gorlovka village, Zaitsevo
Notice: Faces of HBO VICE News team in pictures are blurred to respect HBO corporation rules.
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